The Tears of a Professional
A white-haired man clad in a black leather jacket, leather pants, and black belts wrapped all over his body was blocking the entrance to the Goblin's Forest.
It was the B-Rank Player who, by now, felt somewhat familiar.
"I've been waiting for you all day."
The B-Rank Player drew a hunk of black iron that was far too massive to be called a sword.
"You can't run anymore. Come, draw your blade."
By blade, does he mean the rusty dagger that is a goblin's default equipment?
I bowed my head slightly and spoke.
"Excuse me, customer. Although I am wearing a goblin avatar, my shift hasn't started yet. If you wish to hunt, there are other goblins inside the forest..."
"No!"
Whoosh!
A dark aura erupted from the man.
"You are the one I want! Don't even think about slipping away!"
As the dark aura brushed against my body, my skin tingled and my strength began to drain. It seemed to be causing some sort of debuff.
I can't be late.
"If you harm me right now, you could be penalized for assault. If you go inside and find me once my shift starts, I will face you as an NPC."
"Shut up! Once you become an NPC, your movements get restricted!!"
Just as he said, goblins suffered from behavioral restrictions during working hours.
While we could move like normal humans off the clock, once our shift began, our attack patterns were limited to stabs and slashes, and our actions were restricted to rolling, crouching, and standing up.
"That... is true. A goblin's behavioral patterns are simplified so that even beginners can easily hunt them..."
"Urgh... Are you mocking me?!"
"Pardon?"
Suddenly, chat windows popped up all around us.
It wasn't CC's chat window.
They were chats from ordinary citizens connected to IntraMaetan.
Looking closely, I could see the B-Rank Player moving his fingers toward an invisible console window.
Come to think of it, did he mention he was streaming?
Some IntraMaetan users occasionally streamed to provide entertainment for others. A few players were highly popular streamers, and it seemed the B-Rank Player in front of me was one of them.
"I... will defeat you at your absolute best and prove my strength."
Mocking chats sprouted like mushrooms after rain, ridiculing the B-Rank Player.
Seeing occasional small donations pop up, it seemed they weren't just teasing him for nothing.
"Now, draw your blade!"
"Sigh."
I guess I have no choice.
He clearly had no intention of letting me pass quietly.
If I kept wasting time like this, I would definitely be late.
...I had to avoid that at all costs. As the newest hire, it was my duty to fill the bulletin board.
"Understood."
I pushed CC behind me and drew my rusty dagger.
Thrusting the dagger forward, I assumed the basic goblin combat stance.
"Whew... I'm going all out from the start."
Whoosh!
The dark aura intensified, and the B-Rank Player's eyes glowed blue. Almost simultaneously, he raised his sword high and lunged off the ground.
"Assault Combination!"
I lightly twisted my body and rolled across the ground, evading his three-stage combo.
"Darkness Eruption!"
The ground cracked open, and spikes of shadow erupted from the fissures. I quickly retreated to dodge them.
"As expected... But how about this?! Quark Explosion!"
Three small spheres materialized in front of him, spinning rapidly before detonating. A blinding flash obscured my vision.
Beyond the light, I saw the dark silhouette of his massive sword sweeping horizontally toward me.
My reflexes urged me to roll, but I consciously forced myself to stand still.
This should be enough.
My senior had told me before.
Making the customers feel good by getting knocked on our asses is our job.
"Gwah!"
I blocked his greatsword with my dagger and flew backward.
The rusty dagger shattered into pieces, scattering in all directions.
"Huff... Huff..."
The B-Rank Player stood frozen in his follow-through stance, panting heavily as he stared at me.
Enduring the dull ache spreading through my avatar, I dropped to one knee and spoke.
"I... have lost..."
The chat window exploded.
A mixture of praise and mockery poured in for the player who had barely managed to win after three encounters.
Still, seeing the occasional donations roll in, the overall atmosphere seemed positive.
It would have been nice to end things on a warm note...
But the B-Rank Player didn't seem to share that sentiment.
"You bastard... Are you going to mock me until the very end?!"
His face contorted with rage.
"Is this really all you've got?! Don't make me laugh! You, who dodged every single skill I threw at you before! Falling to a basic combo like this?! Are you taking it easy on me?!"
He had clearly realized I was holding back.
A few comments criticizing me also caught my eye in the chat.
"Get up! Fight me properly! I won't let you leave until you fight me seriously!"
Dude, I don't even have a weapon anymore...
Besides, my shift was about to start.
"I am telling the truth, my shift is starting soon. I will fight you seriously inside the forest, so if you could please let me go for now..."
"Nonsense!"
Boom!
The B-Rank Player's dark aura erupted, gouging the ground around him.
"Are you trying to run away like that? If so, just fight me seriously right now and defeat me! Come on! Hurry! Show me your full power!"
I don't have a sword, man.
You literally just shattered it...
"If you refuse to fight seriously to the end, I'll force your hand. Injured Darkness Aura!"
Along with the player's shout, the surrounding dark aura began to corrode my skin.
The goblin's green skin began to peel away bit by bit as a searing pain spread throughout my entire body.
"This aura corrodes skin, dealing continuous damage and pain. You won't be able to dodge this."
It seemed to be an area-of-effect damage skill. Indeed, there was no dodging it. But if I just stood here, I was going to die.
Well, if I die, I'll just respawn at my login point and take a different route to work.
"Do you think I don't know what you're thinking? I won't let you off that easily. Mass Healing Factor!"
The player activated an item shaped like a fist-sized white wing.
The wing fluttered around, scattering particles of white light.
The moment those particles touched me, my corroding skin began to regenerate.
To be precise, I was caught in an endless loop of corrosion and healing.
"It's an area-of-effect healing item. With this, you won't even be able to die, and you'll continuously suffer the pain of your skin rotting away. If you want to escape, come on, attack me!"
"Urgh."
Just as he said, the agony of my flesh rotting endlessly repeated itself.
This isn't working. I have no choice but to use the Earrings of Dueoksini I got from Kang Yeolchan...
I'm sorry, Handaxe Goblin Senior.
I swore I would never defeat a customer again...!
It was at that moment.
"Rawr!!!"
"Gack!!"
A Sun Bear lunged forward and delivered a devastating uppercut to the B-Rank Player.
Caught completely off guard, the B-Rank Player let out a bizarre shriek as he was sent flying.
The Sun Bear—or rather, CC—stood firmly between me and the player.
"Don't bully my mister!"
"M-Mister...?!"
Still reeling from the shock of the bear's uppercut, the player muttered from his face-down position on the ground.
Meanwhile, a shockwave was also rippling through the chat window.
The sudden appearance of the Sun Bear.
The player knocked out in a single blow.
Above all, the fact that the Sun Bear avatar was a product with highly questionable design intentions set the chat ablaze.
Donations of sizes never seen before were exploding on screen.
"Everyone has lost their minds..."
Thanks to CC's powerful strike, the player couldn't even stand properly.
Seizing the opportunity to rush to work, I grabbed CC's arm and pulled her along.
It was then.
"Waaaaahhhhh!"
A sorrowful wail echoed at the entrance of the Goblin's Forest.
Turning around, I saw the B-Rank Player slumped on the ground, weeping at the top of his lungs.
"Why... why does everyone do this to me... *hiccup*... Now it's not just a goblin, but some... some kind of *sob* love doll avatar is bullying me too... *hic* Waaaaahhhhh!"
Having completely lost his self-control, the B-Rank Player pounded the ground.
At the same time, the chat window also lost all restraint.
The donation amounts were hitting record highs.
Colorful text and sound effects indicating massive donations flashed incessantly.
"Waaaaah! Stop making fun of me...! You bastards...! Stop it...! Waaaaah!!! *hic* Th-Thank you for the one million Maetan Points...! Waaaaahhh! Ahhh!"
Even while sobbing, the player did not forget to express his gratitude for the massive donations. In that regard, he was a true professional.
"L-Let's go."
Leaving behind the trembling player, I pulled the Sun Bear's hand and headed toward the Goblin's Forest.
His voice echoed through the trees of the forest.
"I will find you! I'll find you and definitely beat you! Just wait! Waaaaah! Stop teasing me, you jerks...! *sniff*... Th-Thank you for the two million Maetan Points... *sob*..."
As we ran through the forest, CC suddenly came to a halt.
"Ah, wait a second."
"What's wrong? We're in a hurry. My shift is starting soon."
"We're being hacked."
"What?"
I instinctively scanned our surroundings.
But there was nothing to be seen.
"They aren't nearby. It's a hack utilizing IntraMaetan's system itself. Their skills are... quite impressive, but..."
"Is it dangerous?"
The Sun Bear placed its paws on its hips, striking a confident pose.
"What are you talking about? Did you forget who I am? A hacking attempt of this level is child's play compared to F's attacks."
"Whew."
My sigh of relief was short-lived.
"But the fact that they're trying to hack us is significant. Have you ever been hacked in your life, Mister? No, right? Why would someone suddenly target us of all people?"
"...Someone is suspicious of us?"
The Sun Bear rested a paw on its chin as if deep in thought.
"I'm going to log out and focus on defending against the hack and tracing the source."
It was one annoying thing after another, but this was actually welcome news.
The Sun Bear vanished, and in its place, CC's chat window popped up before my eyes.
Oh, and you should log out for a bit too, Mister.
"Why?"
I think you've been calculating for too long. Your prosthetic arm is so hot your flesh is cooking. You'd better run it under water to cool it down quickly!
"What?"
Hurriedly logging out, I saw that my left upper arm, where the prosthetic arm was attached, had turned bright red. I rushed to the sink, keeping the USB cable plugged into my Neck-Hub so CC wouldn't lose connection.
I turned on the tap and thrust my prosthetic arm under the pouring stream of water.
Sssssssss...!
The sound of metal rapidly cooling hissed through the air.
Splashing water over my scorched skin, I pulled up the Neck-Hub console to check the time.
"Am I late...?"
It was my very first time being late.